“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.

(Winston Churchill)

On December 16, 2016, President Obama signed the Inspector General Empowerment Act into law. With the passage of this legislation, federal inspectors general will now be guaranteed access to information necessary to do their jobs. This was a landmark victory for the entire community of Inspectors General. There were many developments that led to this legislation being pursued, not the least of which was the position taken by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that the words “all records” in Section 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, did not actually mean “all records”; and therefore, the DOJ Inspector General would not be allowed access to required information. It was the consensus of the IG community that this interpretation defied common sense and clearly undermined the original intent of the Inspector General Act of 1978.